letters to the editor

As I browsed your July 13-19 edition, I noticed your “Ten Best” and felt compelled to make a comment. Whether justice or a miscarriage of justice has taken place within a courtroom verdict depends upon the charge that has been levied. You left the actual charges out of several of the cases you pointed out.

Here’s a good one — in the Rodney King beating, “…a Los Angeles jury acquitted three of the officers and reached no verdict for the fourth.” Okay, but what were the officers actually acquitted of? You failed to mention that.

There was never any question that they beat Rodney King — they never claimed otherwise. The officers weren’t charged with beating him. The issue at hand was whether they could legally use that amount of force to subdue an individual who three times ignored their commands, charged them, fought them and was found to have a controlled substance in his system. As I’m sure you’re aware, King’s companion who was also given the same commands, remained calm and did as the officers requested. He did not have a hand laid on him.

The officers were acquitted of using excessive force in that particular situation. A just verdict for anyone that saw the entire video and not just the second half of it (which is what most TV stations chose to show).

This isn’t to say that I found no value in some of your “Ten Best,” but when presenting a jury verdict as a “miscarriage of justice” you need to include the actual charges upon which the verdict was rendered.

Tom Kirkman, High Point

INTERN-AL LOVE

Glad you could be here and know your readers enjoyed your insightful article – I sure did [“Greensboro Historical Museum Jewish slave traders, Civil War heroes, spies and foot doctors”; June 22, 2011; by Eric Ginsburg]. YES! Weekly is lucky to have you on board as an editorial intern

Hi Eric, I wanted to send you a quick thank you for the great article on the language programs [“Variety of language courses offered at FaithAction”; June 6, 2011; by Eric Ginsburg]! We really appreciate the time you took to not only cover our programs, but speak with some of our participants to learn more about why they have joined our programs. Thank you for helping us in our mission of creating a united community of many cultures.

Please thank Brian for last week’s dog publication — however, I do have to take issue with the thought that “not all dogs are good dogs.” Anything featuring a canine is at the top of my list; in my view, dogs are one of God’s greatest ideas.

Turning to Peanuts [“Memories of Peanuts”; by Keith T. Barber; July 20, 2011]. When I saw the title, I knew the story would not have a happy ending. Very sorry that you lost him via a car accident. Two items at the end of the story caught my attention: that you have not owned a dog since, and that you are very loyal. In case those two are connected, I thought I would share my story of Lady and DJ.

To the best of my recollection, my parents and I got Lady when I was in the first grade (I’m now 62). A good friend of my father who lived a couple of blocks away had noticed her as a stray, and thought we might be interested in a dog. He owned a couple of bird dogs, and was of the opinion that Lady had good markings and appeared to be in good health. That was the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

Lady was with us until I was either in college or law school, so in essence she raised me. When she died, I thought I would never want another dog. I presume there was a sense of loyalty there, in addition to the fact that I would join the apartment dwellers after law school until getting married several years later. I presume that my parents felt the same way, as they never got another dog; unfortunately, I wonder from time to time if it was my attitude about not getting another dog that perhaps kept them from doing so, and thus closed the door to another dog who could have had a wonderful home.

Once having a family of my own, and finally fencing in our backyard, it was time for my son to get a dog from the animal shelter. We got a pup which my son named DJ (don’t recall the origin of the moniker), and he was with us from sometime in grade school until high school graduation. Although he was my son’s dog, since I’m the most consistent walker in the family, I would take him with me on my walk about every day. DJ was a tremendous dog!

This is where the loyalty part comes in. Based upon my experience with DJ, I understood that the real loyalty to a dog that you’ve loved like Lady is to share that love with another dog. Loving and caring for DJ was an extension of my experience with Lady. A month or so after DJ died, we were back at the shelter adopting two brothers(Horace and Falstaff). I can’t imagine not having a dog going forward unless and until health reasons would prevent it.

Again, I don’t know the reasons why you currently don’t have a dog; but I thought this story might pique your interest. There are lots of dogs out there that need a good home, and ask for very little in return.